Release No. 0218.96

                                      Paul Drazek  (202) 720-3631
                                      Johna Pierce (202) 720-4623

U.S. REQUESTS WTO REVIEW OF EU BAN ON U.S. BEEF

     AMARILLO, Tex., April 26, 1996--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said
today that at the May 8 meeting of the World Trade Organizations's  Dispute
Settlement Body the United States will request that a panel be formed to
examine the European Union's longstanding ban on U.S. beef.

     "This action is necessary because bilateral discussions on the issue
failed to result in the elimination of a trade barrier that is clearly
unjustifiable and unfair," Glickman said.  "We will continue our bilateral
efforts to find an acceptable solution, and I will raise the issue when I meet
with Commissioner Fischler in early May, but we have been waiting to see real
progress on this matter for many years and it is time to move it forward."

     "We will be working closely with Acting U.S. Trade Representative,
Charlene Barshefsky, to present a strong case to the World Trade Organization
(WTO)," Glickman said.

     The European Union (EU) ban on imports of beef from countries that allow
the use of growth promotants has been in place since 1989.  The United States
lost a substantial market for beef when the ban took effect, estimated at the
time at approximately $100 million per year.

     In 1995, two international conferences confirmed that the hormones
approved for use in the United States for cattle were safe.  That conclusion
was reached independently by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a food
standards body under the joint auspices of the World Health Organization and
the Food and Agriculture Organization, and by a scientific conference
established by the EU, itself.  New WTO rules, which became effective January
1, 1995, require that measures such as the EU hormone ban be science-based. 
The EU has never presented a scientific justification for its policy.

     "We have been hearing that there is strong interest among European meat
importers and consumers in gaining access to U.S. beef.  It would therefore be
in the best interest of both sides to make U.S. beef available to European
consumers," said Glickman.

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